by Sean Highkin, USA TODAY Sports

by Sean Highkin, USA TODAY Sports

DEERFIELD, Ill. - For the Chicago Bulls, last year was defined by their continued ability to surprise people. Their best player, Derrick Rose, missed the entire 2012-13 season with a torn ACL, but the team still finished with the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference and upset the Brooklyn Nets in the first round of the playoffs before falling to the Miami Heat in the second round.

"People didn't think we could win a playoff series without (Rose)," Bulls center Joakim Noah told USA TODAY Sports after Sunday's practice session. "As a whole, what people around the country respected about our team is our heart and how hard we play."

Noah is coming off a career year - and some injuries of his own. He made his first All-Star team in 2013, averaging 11.9 points, 11.1 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.1 blocks a game and came in fourth in Defensive Player of the Year voting. During the postseason, the big man played through a case of plantar fasciitis in his right foot against both the Nets and the Heat, but still played 34.1 minutes a game in the playoffs and averaged 10.8 points, 9.6 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.2 blocks.

Now, he says the foot is feeling better. "It's day two of practice and it was a hell of a practice," he said. "My foot feels great."

Noah has always been one of the more outspoken stars in the NBA, once calling the Heat "Hollywood as hell." On October 29, the Bulls will tip off the 2013-14 season in Miami. The game will be preceded by the two-time defending champions being presented their 2013 rings while the Bulls watch.

The Heat aren't the only team that will be standing in the Bulls' way if they hope to come out of the Eastern Conference. The Nets have added future Hall of Famers Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce as well as veteran forward Andrei Kirilenko. The Indiana Pacers, who took the Heat to seven games in the 2013 Eastern Conference Finals, improved their bench with additions such as Luis Scola, Chris Copeland and former Bulls guard C.J. Watson.

The only significant free-agent signing the Bulls made this summer was adding veteran guard Mike Dunleavy, Jr., a solid outside shooter and team defender. But Noah thinks Chicago made the biggest acquisition of the entire offseason, even if it was technically not a roster addition. Rose didn't play at all last season, so it's almost prudent to view his return as a free-agent signing. In that case, the Bulls hit a lottery that could potentially overshadow even the Houston Rockets' signing of Dwight Howard.

"A player like Derrick coming back, that's the biggest addition in the NBA," Noah said of having the 2011 league MVP healthy for the first time in almost 18 months. "Just having somebody like that who's so competitive.

"The East got better, but we got better too. The only thing we can control is us."

To that end, how much does Noah like his team this year?

"This is definitely the most talented group I've ever been in camp with," he said. "I'm so excited.

"There's no uncertainty right now. Everyone's healthy, everyone knows what's at stake. â?¦ We obviously have a lot at stake. As a basketball player, I couldn't feel happier and more excited coming into a season."